Gas operated alarm actuable by back-up travel of a tractor



June 12, 1956 c. D. N EL ET AL 2,749,877

GAS OPERATED ALARM ACTUABLE BY BACK-UP TRAVEL OF A TRACTOR Filed June 4, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 41 5 0 10 'CfiaflZes% -Z BYZJIW 7510381;

June 12, 1956 Filed June 4, 1954 c. D. NOEL ET 2,749,877 GAS OPERATED ALARM ACT LE BY BACKUP TRAVEL OF A TRACTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q /IIIIIII////IIIIIII///J INVENTOR.

United States Patent GAS OPERATED ALARM ACTUABLE BY BACK-UP TRAVEL 0F A TRACTOR Charles D. Noel, The Dalles, Greg, and Lyman J. Tucker, Bedding, Calif.

Application June 4, 1954, Serial No. 434,394

1 Claim. (Cl. 116-138) The present invention relates to automatic alarms generally and specifically to an air horn alarm for use with a tractor in which the internal combustion engine furnishes the power for the horn in intermittent blasts, and is actuated automatically when the tractor is put into reverse gear.

In many places of construction, hauling, mining and railroading, the tractors, cranes, locomotives and the like are required to have signals to indicate that they are either in reverse motion or about to be put into reverse motion. Usually the signal employed is the same as given for forward movement of the tractor, switch engine or other vehicle.

The present invention has for its principal object to provide a distinctive signal which automatically goes into action when the reverse gear is engaged.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a readily assembled automatic alarm of few parts and of simple construction, and one that may be connected to the internal combustion engine of a tractor or other source of motive power without extensive alteration or modification.

A further object of the invention is to provide a signal by means of an air horn on the vehicle, and one that may use the present horn without serious modification.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an automatic alarm or signal using a small portion of the combustion gases from a single cylinder of the engine, and has means for cooling the gases to a temperature which approaches the temperature of the air blast normally used in an air horn.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a template for use in drilling a hole into the cylinder head of the particular type of diesel engine used without removing the head from the engine or without disturbing any of the cooling cavities in the head.

These objects and advantages will be readily apparent upon consideration of the following description when taken in connection with the annexed drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view in elevation and partly in schematic form showing the invention,

Figure 2 is a top view in cross section taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a plan view in elevation of a portion of an engine block and cylinder head showing the location of the ports and conduit of the invention,

Figure 4 is a front view in elevation of a template used in aligning the conduits and ports of the invention on the cylinder head,

Figure 5 is a side view in elevation of the template of Figure 4,

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the method of attachment of the template and the location of the drilled holes, and

Figure 7 is a side view in elevation showing the template in place for drilling of the hole.

Referring in greater detail to the drawing, in which "ice like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, in the cross-sectional view portion of Figure l, a diesel engine block 10 is shown, with a cylinder head 11 secured at its upper end and having an injector port 12, water jacket cavities 13 and 14, and a valve 15 shown in dotted lines, to best illustrate the general location of the present invention.

The block 10 also has a water jacket 16, interconnected with the water jacket cavities 13, 14 of the cylinder'head 11, and a piston 17 slides in the block 10 in the conventional manner.

In Figures 1 and 2 is shown a heat exchanger or gas cooler 18 formed of an elongated cylinder having a cover 21 and connected at its upper end by inlet 22 to the water cavity 14 in the cylinder head 11 by the conduit 23, and connected at its lower end by outlet 24 by conduit 25 to the water jacket 16. A nipple 26 is threaded into the tapped hole 27 for the conduit 23 and nipple 28 similarly threaded into the tapped hole 29 for the coolant 25.

The cooler 18 has a gas inlet 30 at its upper end connected to one end of a conduit 31 which may be continuous with or connected to coil 32 the other end of which is either continuous with or connected to the conduit 33 at the gas outlet 34, and which connects to a chamber 35' of a valve housing 35. The housing 35 also includes an oppositely disposed chamber 35" and the chambers 35 and 35 are separated by a valve 37. A gas operated signal horn 36 is connected in communication with the other of the chambers or chamber 35". The valve 37 is spring biased and controls a flow of cooled gas admitted to the chamber 35 out of the chamber 35", the stem of the valve being operatively connected to the actuating lever 38.

In Figures 3 to 7 is shown the preferred method of locating the hole 39 and nipple 40 which connects to the other end of the conduit 31 and supplies gas from the combustion chamber 41 of the engine to the cooler and to the valve 35, and then to the air horn 36. A template 42 is shown in Figures 4 to 7 having a thin webbed center portion 43 and an enlarged end 44 with a bore 45 to fit over the manifold stud 46; the other end of the template 42 has a sloped gauge face 47 drilled with a guide hole 48 to indicate the angle and guide the drill for the hole 39 in the cylinder head 11.

The gauge face 47 is on the opposite side from the vertical face 49 which is held against the cylinder head, and the guide hole 48 is preferably slanted at 76 from the vertical. The hole 39 is best located midway between the manifold ports 51 and enters the combustion chamber 41 adjacent to the injector port 12 without penetrating the water cavities of the cylinder head.

Preferably the hole 39 is one-eighth of an inch in diameter and conduits 31, 33 and coil 32 may be one quarter of an inch 0. D. copper tubing, or similar mate rial. The water conduits 23 and 25 are preferably threeeighths of an inch 0. D. copper tubing, and a length of seven feet of tubing is suited for coiling to adequately cool the gases in a gas cooler six inches in diameter and eight inches in length.

Preferably either the sixth cylinder or the first cylinder of the diesel engine is tapped because complete manifold removal is not necessary for placing the template.

The operation of the present invention is obvious: gases of compression and explosion within the cylinder are fed in the intermittent blast cycles of the engine detonation. The resultant alarm signal is at once distinct and wholly different from the sounded warnings of the air horn, which of course, may also be connected by means not shown here to other sources of air pressure and by other means controlled.

While a single embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is contemplated that many other embodiments may be made and used, and that many changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

What is claimed is: I

A back-up alarm for a tractor having an internal combustion engine including a water circulating jacket and a combustion chamber, a valve housing including two oppositely disposed chambers separated by a valve positioned exteriorly of said engine, a cooler connected in communication with said water jacket, an upstanding coil positioned within said cooler and having one end connected in communication with said combustion chamber and having the other end connected to one of said chambers, a gas operated signal horn connected in communication with the other of said chambers, said valve being spring biased and controlling the flow of cooled gas admitted to said one chamber out of the other of said chambers, and an actuating lever operatively connected to said valve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 783,748 Glines Feb. 28, 1905 1,559,254 Kephart Oct. 27, 1925 1,614,858 Wenz Jan. 18, 1927 

